


Mercury

by bastardnumber84



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mother-Son Relationship, Platonic Cuddling, Roman Rogues Sidequest (Rusty Quill Gaming), Season/Series 04 Spoilers, Spoilers for Ancient Rome Sidequest (Rusty Quill Gaming), canon compliant in the loosest sense, no beta we die like bertie, post-sidequest, sitting on a roof talking, supportive mom!sasha, we're starting to get into headcanon city here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:08:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27580493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bastardnumber84/pseuds/bastardnumber84
Summary: Azus doesn't want to feel helpless again.
Relationships: Sasha Racket & Azus, Sasha and her kids
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok so this is my first foray back into fanfic since i was 12. not heavily edited because i just need to hit post before i loose my nerve. 
> 
> somewhat inspired by from the country we can see the stars by hufflepirate
> 
> not sure how accurate mechanical stuff is cause i spent five minutes on the pathfinder website before giving up in confusion. just go with it.

Wilde could have died. Wilde nearly died. The thought swam in circles around Azus’s mind. The only thing that stood in between her and death were two measly health potions. If it hadn’t been enough, if they didn’t have them… Riz, probably trying to be helpful, had told Azus to stop going over what ifs, that it wouldn’t help anything. 

But here’s the thing that Azus couldn't stop thinking about. This was his first mission, the first mission that any of them had gone on, almost Wilde’s last and Riz hadn’t been that much better off either… Azus shook his head slightly to clear it, and shivered just a bit. It wasn’t that cold, or even cool, but the night breeze had a bit of a bite to it. He was up on the roof, which was practically the designated thinking spot. Azus and his siblings had been coming up here since before they could make the climb themselves. Sasha’d carried him up here when he was little, and they’d looked at the stars for hours.

Azus turned his face upward, towards those same stars. His fingers fidgeted with the letter he’d stolen from Riz and a cloak he’d nicked from Wilde before climbing on the roof. Shivering again, he relented and put the stolen cloak on, tucking the letter safely inside.

“Azus? You up here?” A voice called out across the roof.  
Azus snapped out of his thoughts. It was silly to think he wouldn’t be interrupted here. Especially after a day like that. Hopefully, though, there would be no more days like that. But the odds of it being one time…

The voice called again. “Azus? You all right?”   
This time he focused long enough to respond. “Yeah. I’m here.” He didn’t say anything else and didn’t turn his head. Sasha climbed onto the roof behind him, not with quite as much grace as Azus remembered from years ago, but still with more grace than he himself managed. Without saying anything, she reclined and gently pulled Azus down with her so that he was curled into her side with his head on her stomach. 

Neither said anything for a few minutes. Azus tried a couple of times to say something, but felt the words get choked in his throat. He fidgeted with the cloak a bit more. He finally got out “Wilde. Riz. Was nearly…” before completely breaking down. 

Sasha, having learned over the years of being a parent that her version of ‘comforting words’ had a tendency to make the situation worse, just held Azus close. After a few minutes of letting him cry, she started talking in a low and steady tone. Not about the technically successful but traumatic mission from earlier in the day, but about his namesake. All the kids loved hearing about Sasha’s old family, and it was her go-to method to calm them down. Eventually, just as she knew he would, Azus stilled. 

But he wasn’t asleep. There was one detail that stuck out in the story. It was something he’d known, in that background sort of way that you know that something is true but irrelevant. Well, it was certainly relevant now. 

“Sasha?” Azus asked, cutting her off in the middle of a wandering story about a fight when a lad or bloke got her pretty good and Azu used Lay On Hands to heal her.

“Hmm?” Sasha hummed and turned her attention to Azus.

“What’s that?” 

Sasha looked confused. Azus rolled his eyes. “Lay On Hands. What’s that?” Sasha nodded, understanding the question and narrowed her brows as she tried to think of a good answer.

“It’s a, a. Well, it’s a healing spell that paladins do. I, uh, don’t really know how it works. But it’s handy - saved my life loads of times.” She gave a short laugh at that.

“So can only paladins do it?” Sasha shrugged, accidently jostling Azus a bit. “‘S far as I know, but ‘s never been my specialty.” 

Azus’s face scrunched up in consideration. “So if I want to heal, I have to be a paladin?”

“I mean, no but also yeah? Healin’ don’t take no fancy vows or armor or nothin, but that healing spell ya gotta be a paladin to do.” At Azus’s confused look Sasha tried to backtrack a bit. “Look, there’s, like, normal mundane healin with bandages and such, but there’s also magical healing which you gotta devote yourself to a god and stuff and that god gives ya magic”

“What about health potions? Are they magic or normal?” 

She shrugged. “I wish I could help you. I dunno, I ain’t spent time thinkin ‘bout it.” Seeing his disappointment at the non-answer, she corrected. “Next time I pick some up, I’ll ask. OK?” Azus nodded, content with that as an interim answer.

Azus took a deep breath and prepared to ask the question churning on his mind. “How do I become a paladin? I don’t want to be that helpless when people are hurt again.” Sasha looked surprised, but not disappointed. “Well, I think ya first gotta sleep on it, at least.” Azus sighed. That was such a mum response. He was sure, and sleep wouldn’t change that. She took his sigh as a cue to carry on. “After that, ‘m not too sure. The only two paladins I knew, Grizzop and Azu,” at the name of his namesake, Sasha gave Azus a short squeeze, “joined up in completely different ways. Grizzop got adopted by the Cult of Artemis when his family all died, and Azu just.” She paused, looking for the right words. “She, uh. Sorta felt the call.” 

A thought started to form in his head. “Is there a god of thieves? Cause if so then I kinda got adopted to it.”   
“I mean, I’m real good, but I wouldn’t say god-”

Azus shook his head and giggled. “No! Like, uh, like,” Azus tried to remember the example he was thinking of. It had only been last year, but the memory was blurry. “Like when we went to the port and there was a shrine for Neptune, right? Because of the sailors. But not all of them are paladins. And Riz says there’s pretty much a god for everything, so there’s probably god for thieves.”

Sasha made a small noise of understanding, then shrugged. “I never had much use for faith. And, uh,” her voice trailed off. She shook herself from her memories and continued. “Never mind that. Probably can’t cause too much trouble to have a god on our side.”

“We already do!”

“What?”

“I mean, god of thieves.” Azus waved in between the two of them. “We’re thieves. We’re already on who ever it is’s good side!” 

Sasha snorted. “Yeah, maybe.” 

Azus fell quiet. This time, when he grew still, he did fall asleep. It had been a long day, after all. Rather than wake him up or try to carry him down (and probably fail. When did he get so big?), Sasha accepted that her back would be stiff when she woke up and let herself drift off on the roof as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A single night hasn't dissuaded Azus, and Sasha doesn't want her kids to rush into things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> supportive mom!sasha for the win
> 
> i can’t figure out how old the non-player kids are supposed to be and the wiki didn’t help so. my city now.

Sasha woke up with a slight jerk. Even though she’d been living in safety for over a decade now, she’d never quite been able to kick the habit of waking up at the first sign of noise or movement. She quickly catalogued what had woken her - it had been a couple of the kids trying to get in some pre-dawn tumbling practice. It had ended, as usual, with them squabbling, and the noise had alerted her. Comforted that it was nothing out of the ordinary, she relaxed again.

Sasha moved one hand to lightly rest on top of Azus’s still sleeping head. She smiled, content in the knowledge that Azus wasn’t having (and would never have, if she had anything to say about it) the kind of childhood that meant that he had to wake up and be ready to fight in the blink of an eye. He shifted a bit, adjusting to Sasha’s movements.

Down below, the kids were getting louder by the second. Petty squabbling was turning into a true argument. Sasha sighed. It seemed like it was time to get up, no matter if she wanted to keep sleeping. Through the combination of his pillow moving and the ever-louder noise, Azus started to stir.  
Azus grumbled out a not quite half-conscious phrase that was probably “Stop moving” and/or “shut up,” but just came out as a slur of nonsense. 

“Alright! Time to get up!” Sasha said, with as much forced morning cheerfulness as she could muster. Just cause she could get up at dawn doesn’t mean she liked doing so. Azus groaned, but rolled off her and faceplanted into the roof tiles. The corners of Sasha’s mouth lifted into a gentle half-smile. She knew he was being whiny now, but he would have energy like he’d been awake for hours in about ten minutes.

She spared a quick look down at the argument. Riz had apparently also been woken up by the conflict and was trying to mediate, with limited success. Sasha glanced in between the rooftop and the ground.

“Make sure you come down for breakfast.” She called back to Azus, who nodded. She smoothly swung off the roof to go work out what was now a true cacophony of noise, purposefully ignoring the complaints from her spine. 

Azus was left with a lot to think about. He followed Sasha down inside, his body working on muscle memory, his thoughts elsewhere. Sasha had said sleep on it, and it must have done something, because he felt more convinced than before.

He wasn’t the first to the table. Sagax and Wilde were already sitting down and eating. The moment Azus saw Wilde, fresh memories resurged and he couldn’t stop himself from giving her a hug. She froze and immediately started trying to figure out what he was trying to nick off her.

“I’m just really glad you’re okay.” Azus mumbled into her shoulder. She relaxed into the hug a tiny bit, but was still alert in case he got twitchy fingers.

“Azus! Azus, look,” she waved at herself, “I’m fine! In fact, I’m perfect, as alwa-” The sentence slammed to a stop, abruptly enough that Azus raised his head from her shoulder. “Is that my cloak? Why do you have it? When did you even steal it, I was wearing it yesterday!”

“It’s not your cloak,” he muttered, knowing full well that he was fighting a losing battle because it was, in fact, her cloak. Wilde stood up, dislodging her younger brother. She planted her hands on her hips. “I know that you know that I know that it’s mine! Did you -” she narrowed her eyes. “Did you sneak into my room after I went to sleep?”

It was at this point that Sasha walked in. She had been awake for a grand total of maybe twenty minutes and already looked exhausted. On her left side was Bertus and on her right was Maximus. Both of them looked sullen and they wouldn’t look at each other. Behind, Riz followed, awkwardly trying to keep pace because he kept accidentally catching up and had to slow down so as to not trend on heels. 

“Everyone here?” Sasha asked, purposefully interjecting herself over the rather one-sided argument between Wilde and Azus, more than ready to sit down and eat. She did a quick mental headcount: six out of seven. Good enough, unless the seventh was still up on… Nope. She scanned the faces in front of her and the missing one was Amidus, which. Not atypical as of late. She’d have to check in on him later. 

Sasha snapped her mind back to the present as she saw Wilde open her mouth, ready to go at it again.  
“Wilde.” The girl in question visibly held back and turned to face Sasha. “What happened.” 

“He stole my cloak!” Wilde said while pointing at Azus.

“Did you?”

He nodded, not wanting to lie to Sasha.

“Azus, you know the rule. What is it?”

“The only people you don’t nick from are family.” He looked down and seemed to almost sink into the fabric.

“Okay.” Sasha ran a hand through her hair. “For now, just apologize to your sister and give it back and we’ll call it done.”

“But -”

“Wilde, drop it. Please. We can talk it out later if you need to.”

That seemed to do the trick. Azus apologized (begrudgingly), the cloak was returned, and people finally got down to the business of eating breakfast. Sasha exhaled heavily. One last thing. “Azus, Riz,” the second name was called over her shoulder at the teen in question. “After you eat can I talk to both of you?”

“Yep!” Azus said, his mouth full of half chewed food. Riz winced at the eyeful of mush, but nodded and kept eating. The rest of the meal passed as usual: not quiet, but within the normal realm of controlled chaos. Sasha motioned for the kids to go to Cicero for the lessons she couldn’t teach (all that book stuff; still held outdoors, of course), and they trooped out with a minimum amount of bickering. 

Riz and Azus stayed behind, as requested. Riz looked nervous. He couldn’t think of anything he would be in trouble for, but that didn’t seem to matter to his clammy palms. Azus was rocking up and down on his heels. He didn’t seem nervous, rather he looked like he was excited about something. Riz couldn't decide if that made him more or less nervous. 

“Alright,” Sasha turned to them and lightly clapped her hands together, “Riz.” He straightened up at his name. “You, uh - you’ve had some interest in the gods, right?”

Riz tilted his head, unsure where this was going. “I mean, yeah, a bit?” His question - why? - went unasked. 

Azus was unable to contain himself any longer. “I’m going to be a paladin!” If Riz had been drinking something, it would’ve been on the floor. Azus steamrolled past, ignoring the surprised reaction. “Cause like, after yesterday, we really need someone with healing stuff, cause potions ain’t common, we were just lucky Sasha thought ahead, ‘n’ you said there’s a god for everything, so there’s gotta be a god of thieves!” 

Riz stood in place, frozen by the wave of words, but he recovered by the end. “I, guess, yeah, that’s all correct.” He looked helplessly at Sasha, who gave him a shrug.

“We’re exploring choices.” Sasha said, directed to Riz but also to Azus. At Azus’s slightly crestfallen face she amended it. “Look, I’ll support your choices, but I don’t want you gettin trapped in somethin ‘cause you didn’t think about it enough.” She paused for a moment to think before coming to a decision. “Fifteen. That’s when you can officially decide.”

Azus started to whine, but Sasha ignored it and addressed Riz. “So, like, this is what I wanted to ask you about. You’re the only one who remembers anything before the Dragoning. Plus, I know you’ve been doing reading.” Riz took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. 

“I don’t know who the god of thieves is, specifically.” Sasha put a hand on his shoulder. His newly gained height meant that she had to reach up to do so, which was a bit awkward for both of them. But it served its intended purpose and calmed Riz. 

“It’s okay if you don’t know. I figured you might, but we’ll ask Cicero since you don’t.” A question popped into her head. “So what have you been reading about?”

“Uh, well I’ve mostly been reading about Opis. She, uh, she’s well into growing things and plenty and stuff like that, and -”

He was cut off by Azus interrupting. “Well, if you can’t help, we’re gonna go find Cicero.” He tugged on Sasha’s arm, clearly antsy. 

“You’re going to Cicero either way. Lessons, remember?” 

Azus huffed. “How am I supposed to focus on my reading when I still don’t know the answer?”

Sasha grinned. “You didn’t let me finish. I was gonna say you can ask him who the god of thieves is, but after you gotta settle down and pay attention, alright?” Azus sighed. It wasn’t what he wanted (to grill Cicero for everything he knew about the gods and the cults), but it was better than nothing. “After the lesson, you can ask away, okay?” Sasha reassured. 

“Okay.” Azus accepted.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azus learns, and Sasha is a supportive mom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to be part of chapter 2, but it took more time and i needed the validation from hitting post. so. it got split. 
> 
> also it ended up over twice the length of the previous two
> 
> i now have an outline and a plan! yay!

“And so, that’s how -” Azus came tearing into the garden, forcing Cicero to pause in his lesson. Sasha and Riz followed at a more sedate pace, although it looked like Riz was barely containing himself from running after his little brother. “Yes?” Cicero asked, turning his attention on Azus, but not before exchanging a look with Sasha. She inclined her head an almost imperceivable amount. 

“Sasha said I could ask one question now if I payed attention later.” The words tumbled from Azus’s mouth. 

Cicero made a ‘go on’ gesture. “You know I would never dissuade asking questions.”

“Do you know who the god of thieves is?” Whatever question Cicero was expecting, that wasn’t it, but he didn’t let it throw him.

He narrowed his brows, thinking. “Let’s see. I think your answer lies with Mercury.” Azus’s face lit up. Putting a name to his thoughts was good. It felt weird to call someone by their title all the time. “Do keep in mind that gods very rarely represent one thing.” Cicero said, trying not to crush the boy’s spirit, but not wanting him to get the wrong idea. “If you choose to serve a god, you must serve the whole god, not just the parts you like.” Azus chewed on his lip, visibly brimming with questions. 

When it became clear that Cicero had been completely thrown off track and that he wouldn’t be enforcing the one question agreement, Sasha stepped in. “You two can go at it for as long as you like, but later.” She said firmly. Both Azus and Cicero turned identical frowns on her, and she couldn’t help but to bark out a short laugh. Sasha gestured in the direction of the other kids. 

In the two or so minutes that had passed while Cicero and Azus were talking, the group of teens and tweens that had been about as focused as a group of teens and tweens can be, had devolved into the typical chaos of a teacher-less classroom. Sasha grinned and left as Cicero tried to regain control over his students.

Azus could barely stop fidgeting through the whole lesson. Lucky, it wasn’t too long (in terms of actual time past; to him, it had felt like forever) before Cicero wrapped up and he was able to pester the man with questions. Cicero cut him off before words could start pouring out. 

“Let’s move this to the library. I have a feeling this will be a while, and,” He waved at his knees, “I’m not such a young man. I’d like to be able to sit down.” Azus rolled his eyes, annoyed at another delay, but he was willing to jump through any and all hoops to get his answers. 

The library wasn’t very far away. Well, ‘library’ was a generous term. It was mostly Cicero’s beloved collection of reference books, with a few comfortable places to sit and desks pushed up against the walls. It was a favorite spot of Cicero’s (and Amidus, not that he would admit it), and he could usually be found reading and notetaking at one of the desks when he wasn’t teaching. 

Azus settled down onto a couch. He curled his legs under himself and practically quivered with curiosity. Cicero took a bit longer to sit down. He searched the bookshelves for a particular book, running his fingers along the spines as he went. “Ah ha!” He pulled a book off the shelf. Azus strained as much as he could without getting up to see the title. It was just out of eyesight, but as Cicero moved closer, Azus could read what was carefully printed on the cover. The book was called The Homeric Hymns.

Cicero sat down next to Azus and opened the book with care and respect evident in every movement. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. Cicero propped the book up on his leg and turned it so the open pages faced Azus.

Azus peered at the pages for a moment. Puzzled, he tilted his head. “I thought you said the correct god is -” The answer to his half-asked question occurred to him. Homeric. As in the Greek poet Homer. Mercury must be the Roman version of the Greek god Hermes. Hermes was the name on the pages in front of him. The unexpected name change had tripped him up, but he was good. He figured it out.

Cicero was still waiting for the rest of the question, but after a look from Azus, he realized that the kid had gotten it. At a nod from Azus, he began to speak. “This talks about the Greek version, but unlike some others, there’s really not that much difference between Hermes and Mercury. It’s the best source of information I have.” He shrugged. 

Azus didn’t respond. He poured over the pages, captivated by the story of Hermes, and was uncharacteristically quiet. The book gradually migrated from Cicero to Azus’s lap. Although his mouth was still, his mind was going a million miles an hour. The more he learned, the more he felt a pull. 

The rest of the morning passed by in relative silence, aside from the occasional question about something he didn’t understand. Azus finished the Hymn to Hermes in remarkable time. After he read the last words, he looked up at Cicero, blinking like he’d forgotten to while reading. “Enjoy it much?” Cicero asked, giving Azus a wry smile. Azus grinned by way of a response. 

“Can we go to the temple?” He asked. 

“I’ll have to talk with Sasha and figure out which one of us gets to take you, but yes. Of course.” Cicero began to get up.

Azus surprised both himself and Cicero by impulsively giving the teacher a quick hug that was over so fast that he didn’t have time to return the hug after his initial surprise. Sheepishly, Azus looked down. “I - I just needed to say thanks. Wouldn’t have felt right…” His words trailed off, but the meaning was clear and received. Cicero reached down and ruffled the boy’s curls. Normally, that would cause him to duck out of the way and scowl, but Azus was in such a good mood that the duck was only out of reflex, not dislike. 

“We’ll talk to her at lunch, got it?” Cicero said. Azus had the realization that he had no idea what time it was. He went over to the door to check the sun's position. It was like he’d started reading, then woke up and it was several hours later than he remembered. “Turns out,” Azus gave a short laugh, “It’s basically lunch now.”  
Cicero made an ‘after you’ gesture, and the two of them left the library for the dining room. By the time they arrived, the meal was in full swing, and considerably more chaotic than breakfast. Azus left the adults to work out the boring scheduling part and got down to eating. He ignored the noise of many conversations and arguments. 

He busied himself by seeing how much of Amidus’s food he could sneak into his own mouth. That turned out to be not much of a challenge (Amidus was distracted by his own monologue about politics that no one was listening to), so Azus kept it up, but this time made it look like Riz was trying and failing to be sneaky at it. Now, it would be entertaining whether Amidus noticed or not. Worst case, he didn’t notice and Azus got practice and extra food. Best case, Azus got practice, extra food, and stirred up trouble while getting off clean. 

He had the distinct feeling of someone looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Azus saw that Wilde had clocked the whole thing. She was debating with herself internally: She had a rivalry to keep with Azus, but it would be fun to watch Riz try to prove his innocence. Azus turned his head to face her. They locked eyes, and she gave a tiny nod and the barest hint of a smirk. A temporary truce was established in the name of havoc. 

Wilde got up and walked around the table. She lightly bumped into Amidus just enough that he cut himself off, annoyed, and turned to see who had bumped him. At the same time, Azus made his move. As he turned, Amidus finally saw movement from the corner of his eye. Food from his plate had moved to Riz’s. He immediately forgot all about Wilde and looked at his plate. Over half of what had been there was gone.   
Amidus jumped to the conclusion Azus had planted, and started to blow up at a very bewildered Riz. Wilde subtly walked back to Azus, and the pair shared a discrete high-five. 

Having both eaten lunch and played a successful prank on not one, but two siblings, Azus went off to find Sasha and Cicero. He hoped they had figured out who could take him to the temple. Of course, if necessary, he could obviously go on his own (he wasn’t a baby; Sasha had taught him urban survival skills). He just didn’t want to.

This feeling, of course had absolutely nothing to do with the slight nagging fear in the back of his head that he was building up a false image in his head, and that the real temple and the real paladins wouldn’t be what he thought they would be. 

No, Azus definitely wanted to go with someone because the buddy system is important. That was 100% the whole and complete reason.

Sasha and Cicero had, in fact, figured out who got to take Azus. Someone had to stay home to make sure that the normal schedule didn’t get completely upended.

They made eye contact and said “I’ll take him” simultaneously. Sasha’s simple eye contact quickly transformed into a glare. “I’m his mom,” she spat out. Her expression passed from indignation, to surprise at her own reaction, to a little bit of contentment at the fact that not just had she had played the mom card without thinking about it, she had the ability to do so.

Cicero waited the few moments it took for Sasha to snap herself back to the present before raising an eyebrow. “Sorry.” She paused. “I’m still gonna be the one to take him.”

Cicero clapped her on the shoulder. “I figured - my offer was more of a if-you-can’t-go kind of offer anyway.” Sasha smiled at him, glad he understood. After Rome burned, she’d never once regretted asking him for help with teaching and raising all her kids. As the years went by, they’d reached an understanding and become close friends.

It was then that Azus burst in the room. He looked at both adults expectantly. “So? Who’s it gonna be?” He took a breath, but started up again before either could respond. “Actually, on second thought, also when?”  
Sasha beamed. “Me. As for when, have you eaten?” 

“Just finished.” Azus said, unable to keep a mischievous smirk off his face at the memory.

“Well, then let’s go before whatever trouble you caused catches up with you.” Sasha said. 

She gave him a few minutes to go take care of whatever needed taking care of and told him to meet her by the stables. When he returned, Sasha was looking back and forth between the cart and the horses with her hand on her chin. “So,” she asked, “Cart or horse?”

Azus rolled his eyes. “Horse, duh.” He may have not been Sasha’s kid by blood, but he definitely inherited her love of fast things and the wind in his hair. Sasha grinned, pleased at his choice. She swung up and reached out a hand to Azus. Between her boost and his clambering, he got himself up and situated behind her. 

As soon as Sasha felt his arms tighten around her, they set off toward the temple. As Rome was no more, the temple district within it was also gone. But most of the cults had set up new temples in the surrounding country. Most of them were in repurposed buildings that had been abandoned by owners that had seen the smoke rising from the city proper and fled. 

The new temples weren’t all together in a single district like before or out on their lonesome, rather they were clumped together in small groups of three or four. It just so happened that the temple of Artemis that Sasha visited every year was in the same grouping as the temple of Mercury, so she already knew where to go. 

Around twenty minutes into the ride, Sasha tried to think of a good conversion starter. “You certainly spent a lot of time in the library this morning,” Sasha said by way of an opening remark.

Azus perked up. “Cicero showed me this old book that had stories about all the gods and I read the one for Mercury, only I guess it wasn’t Mercury exactly cause the book was written by a Greek.”

“Oh, so you know the Greek name for Mercury?” Sasha asked. 

“Yeah! It’s Hermes.” Azus felt Sasha shift slightly, but ignored it as unimportant. 

Sasha, now that she had the Greek name, knew exactly which god that was. There had been a couple shrines to Hermes down in Other London. There weren’t many religious folks there, but among those that were, he was one of the most popular deities. 

Sasha relaxed from the small amount of tension that came from unknowns. She was glad that she finally had the mental context for who this god was. 

Azus clearly wanted to talk, but sometimes he needed a push to really get going. “Why don’t you tell me more about what you read?” She prompted. He launched into a detailed - if slightly wandering - recounting of the tale. Sasha settled in, content to listen to her son’s excited voice and vaguely familiar stories.

About another hour and a half passed before the group of temples came into view. Azus was so eager to catch a glimpse from his position behind Sasha that he almost fell off. Only Sasha’s quick reflexes kept him from tumbling to the ground. The horse had to be brought to a halt so that Azus could reposition himself, which was a truly minor delay but it was long enough, with the end goal in sight, that he got antsy. 

Sasha could feel him starting to squirm behind her. She thought for a moment. She had been careful to not tire the horse out and she had told Cicero that they would probably be spending the night with the Mercury lot, so she didn’t have to worry about how they were gonna get home before dark. She nodded once to herself.

She called over her shoulder. “Azus?”

“Yeah?”

“Hold on tight.”

He got her meaning, and his arms tightened around her to an almost painful extent. Sasha squeezed her calves into the horse’s sides, and they took off into a full gallop. 

It didn’t take long to cross the remaining distance between them and the temple. Sasha made sure that they slowed to a walk a couple hundred meters from the door so they didn’t freak anyone out. Azus was getting a little frustrated that despite being so close, he still couldn’t really see anything of the building because of Sasha being in the way. Yeah, he could see edges around her, but that’s not what he wanted.

Luckily for him, Sasha dismounted not long after and led the horse by the reins (as an attempt to look non-threatening to any hair-trigger guards that might be around), and Azus got his first full view of the temple of Mercury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a very elaborate theory on what happened to the roman cults post dragoning. i dont want to type it out again, so check out my post [here](https://plasticcyborg.tumblr.com/post/635651561208545280/what-happened-to-the-roman-cults#tumblr_notes) if youre curious 
> 
> i did so much research about horses, and all i learned is that i know nothing about horses  
> btw, did you know the romans didnt ride horses? its bcause they didnt have saddles. im explaining sasha off because 1. the need for speed, 2. shes from the future and knows that its possible, and 3. she has incredible balance


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azus arrives and takes the first step toward his future.

The building itself was almost underwhelming in appearance. It was, after all, just a repurposed villa with a few additions and alterations. The most prominent of the additions was a large and semi-elaborate carving of a caduceus above the door. It was carved with obvious care and respect, but it was a far cry from ostentatious. The main purpose of the alterations to the original villa seemed to be simply to let people know that it was a holy temple, rather than to be grand.

But as Azus and Sasha drew closer, a welcoming feeling started to grow. It felt almost like a beacon was beckoning them closer. Sasha felt it as a faint directing tingle in the back of her brain. She glanced over at Azus. He, seemingly without realizing it, was leaning forward. Far enough forward that Sasha was concerned he might fall off the horse.

“Azus.” Sasha said his name, trying to get his attention without startling him. 

“Hmm?” Azus sounded like he was being shaken out of a thoroughly immersive daydream.

“Don’t fall off - actually, we’re close now. Hop on down.”

Azus nodded. He was still short enough to need help getting on the horse, but needed none on the way down. He dismounted gracefully, throwing in a single flip for style points. 

“Well done. Good and tight tuck.” Sasha praised. 

He took the comment with a smile. “Thanks!”

Sasha held the reins in one hand and lightly placed the other onto Azus’s back. Side by side, they approached the Temple of Mercury.

Within a few seconds, a person appeared from around the side of the building. He looked to be a teenager, older than Riz but definitely not a full adult. The moment he noticed them, he put the closed book he’d been holding onto a low garden wall and practically sprinted over to greet them. 

He crashed to a halt a respectful distance away. Sasha eyed him warily.

“Hi! I’m, uh, my name is Marcus, I’m - I’m a trainee here at the Temple of Mercury.” He finished his statement with a weak flourish, and powered on before either Sasha or Azus could respond. “Can I take your horse and - just a horse, okay, - to the stables for you? So you two can go ahead and head inside?” He looked very confused about the lack of a cart. 

Sasha didn’t bother to explain the lack of a cart, but she did take pity on the teen who was clearly on his first week at this job. Knowing she cut an intimidating figure with the scars and all, she mustered up a smile and handed the reins over. “Thanks. Also, are there rooms we can stay overnight in?” Sasha punctuated the question by tilting her head in the direction of the temple itself. 

Marcus nodded. “Yep!” It seemed to her that her efforts were paying off. The kid looked a bit more relaxed.   
“Ah, fantastic.” Sasha let out a breath, relieved. It would have been awful to try and make both ways of the journey in one day. 

A frustrated sigh came from her left. Azus was jittery with impatience. However this would work out, he would find out in about two minutes, if people could just hurry up and start moving. Sasha placed her hand back onto Azus’s shoulder, as a silent reassurance that she was there, and they continued forward. 

As soon as they began walking, Marcus seemed to take that as his signal. He split from Sasha and Azus and headed around to the side, where the stables presumably were. 

They reached the door. Sasha made sure to stay a good couple of feet behind Azus. She could be supportive, but it was his journey. Azus had to be the one to make the next step. 

Azus reached out to pull the door handle, but hesitated at the last moment. His hand hung in the air as he was wracked with insecurity. All his thoughts from earlier came crashing back. When he opened the door, the mental image he had would be changed (for good or for bad).

But indecisiveness doesn’t win out for long when faced with curiosity. In this case, Azus only paused for a moment before firmly grabbing the handle and pulling. 

The door opened. Where few changes had been made to the outside, the inside had been almost completely remodeled. The entranceway opened into a semi-large room with an altar in the middle where a few people were kneeling and praying. On the far side of the room was a bored-looking cleric sitting behind a low wall that served as a sort of counter-top. It divided the main front room from a back room. It was hard to see into the back room, but to Azus it just looked like lots of paper. Paper in piles, paper in boxes, paper in bags.

At the sound of the door opening, the cleric looked up from whatever it was that she’d been writing. A couple previously unseen additional people in the back room paused from sorting through the paper to take a look at the new arrivals.

Both Sasha and Azus had to squash their rogues’ instincts to hide from the scrutiny. Azus took a deep breath to ground himself. He marched over to the cleric, footsteps steady and true, as sure as if he was walking across a roof. 

“Hi, my name is Azus and I want to learn about Mercury.” He blurted out when he reached the counter. 

The cleric visibly perked up. “Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place! Is there something in particular you want to know, or do you want the overview?”

The friendliness in her voice soothed Azus’s nerves. “Uh, all of it?”

The cleric’s eyes lit up and she grinned. “I can help you with that. Hold on.” She turned away from Azus so she could holler something at one of the people in the back room. A paladin emerged from the depths of the room, and he and the cleric had a short hushed argument that went along the lines of “But it’s not -” “No.” “Fine.” 

The cleric stood up from her seat and started to walk around the counter so she would be on the same side as Azus and Sasha. The paladin sighed, but sat down, replacing the cleric. 

While this transition was happening, Sasha whispered to Azus. “I’ll be over with the Artemis lot til evening or you come and get me, whichever comes first.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Sasha started to back away toward the door. Before she could get too far, Azus gave her a quick hug. “Thanks,” he said, offering her a genuine smile. She returned the smile and seemingly between blinks, she left the temple. Sasha had gone, but Azus didn’t feel alone.

“Now,” said the cleric, having made it around to the public side of the counter. She was rubbing her hands together and excitement was spilling over in her expression. “Let’s get started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so thats it for the main story! next chapter will be an epilogue 
> 
> also, its not important to the story, but in my head, sasha runs sort of a leverage (the tv show) type operation that does security on the side


	5. Epilogue: Many Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azus delivers a very important letter.

Out of all the hundreds of assignments Azus had ever had, this was the most important. He’d forgone the usual letter bag. This letter was too important. He’d wrapped it in waterproof cloth and tucked it in his breastplate. 

Technically, this wasn’t even an official assignment. Azus had spent half a day making his case as to why he should get to use temple resources for personal reasons, and had proved that he wasn’t taught by the last great orator of Rome for nothing. The reminder of that day was spent praying to Mercury for speedy travel.

A day later, and he was on his way. Two days after that, he arrived.

The hot, dry desert wind whipped his face. Azus shaded his eyes with one hand as he looked around. While he looked, he gave thanks that his armor was light and mostly non-metal because it felt hot enough to turn full platemail into a cooking implement. His gaze caught on a rather large and grandiose building. 

If he hadn’t already been certain that this was what he was looking for, the ornately (and, in his opinion, ostentatious) carved heart symbol that was emitting a faint pink glow at a level that was noticeable, but not useful, would have given it away. The temple of Aphrodite. Specifically, the one in Egypt.

Azus walked up to the temple. It appeared to be fairly busy, which was unsurprising. There are always people in need of medical attention, and this was the biggest hospital in the area, maybe even the entire kingdom.

A single relaxed paladin serving as a guard was posted by the door. Azus approached as obviously as he could. It’s not like there were a whole lot of places to hide, but Azus assumed that this paladin wouldn’t be as attuned to sneaking as his own lot. 

As intended, the paladin quickly noticed him. The paladin eyes locked on, narrowing in suspicion, hand going to the pummel of his sword. Azus had expected that, being an armed stranger with no injuries approaching a hospital, and a Roman on top of that. 

Most religious folk didn’t travel much, only leaving for holy reasons, and preferred to stay at their own temples. Followers of Mercury were the almost exact opposite. The only ones who stayed at a single temple for more than a handful of months were those who couldn’t travel (mainly the old and the injured). That innate wanderlust is what made them such good couriers.

Azus made his staff visibly obvious to the other paladin. He relaxed somewhat upon seeing the twining snake design that marked out the Mercury lot, but made it clear that Azus would still be watched. The Roman cults might’ve been falling out of favor in the world order, but the Mercury lot and the courier service they provided was still respected. 

Azus was fine with the extra attention. More than fine. In fact, it would probably make the next part go faster.

“Excuse me,” Azus said to the guard, taking care to speak in Greek, “Please take me to the head of this chapter. I have a delivery.” 

The guard was more-or-less convinced that Azus intended no harm by his deliberately non threatening demeanor. Using a local language also didn't hurt. “Yeah. Hold on, let me get a replacement real quick.”  
“Of course. Although, I would prefer to wait inside.” Azus shrugged. “It’s rather hot out here.”

The guard cracked a sympathetic smile, and Azus was shown inside. In the couple minutes he was left unattended, he clasped his hands together in the small of his back. Normally, he would’ve made a game out of seeing how many things he could nick from passersby. 

But this delivery was very important. And, it’s not like Azus would get caught pickpocketing (he was too good for rookie moves like getting caught), but hey, a less than zero chance of getting caught is still better than a zero percent chance. 

Despite his precautions, his hands still wandered. But if the items in question were returned before the owner noticed they were gone, it’s basically like it never happened. Or, at least, that’s how Azus justified it to himself.

The paladin that Azus had spoken to returned. “Alright. All sorted.” He made a guiding motion. “This way. Please follow me.”

Azus followed him through the temple, past what looked like private treatment rooms and bigger waiting areas. They came to an office. The internal doors for the most part had been rather simple, more like screens or curtains than proper doors. 

This room, however, had a true door. It was decorated with engravings of what Azus assumed were artistic interpretations of the Tenets of Aphrodite. He pushed the door open and walked inside.

The High Priest of Aphrodite was sitting at a desk rifling through stacks of paperwork. “Welcome,” he said, looking up from his desk, “You must be the paladin of Mercury who wishes to speak to me.” He didn’t smile and he had the same low level of baseline distaste that most people had for members of the Roman cults, but he was open to hearing what Azus had to say.

Azus inclined his head and he clasped his hands behind his back once more, but this time to show respect to the man he needed to not upset. “I am here to deliver a letter at the request of my mother, Sasha Whosaskinus.” The high priest raised an eyebrow and leaned forward at her name. Azus felt a stirring of pride that her name was recognized this far away, and couldn’t stop a small smile from creeping onto his face.

Azus reached inside his breastplate and gently pulled out the packet. He unwrapped the actual letter from where it was kept safe by a waterproof cloth. More precisely, he unwrapped two letters. One was the important message, and the other was instructions for the high priest to read and act on. Azus handed the instructions to the high priest. 

“This letter is very important and you need to do exactly as the instructions ask you.” Realizing how that sounded, Azus added “It isn’t asking you to do anything dangerous. There are merely very specific long-term storage instructions for this letter.” He paused for a moment to let the previous statement sink in. “In fact, I of course trust you as someone who has obtained the position of High Priest, but I’m going to need you to swear as a servant of Aphrodite that you will fulfill the instructions to the best of your ability.” 

The high priest’s eyes narrowed. “You are certain that there is absolutely no risk of harm to me or any of my people.” It was not a question.

Azus replied back with just as much firmness. “Yes. It is just specialized storage instructions.”

“Alright. I swear by my lady, the goddess Aphrodite, that I will fulfill the instructions written in this letter to the best of my ability.” 

A weight that had filled the room as soon as the high priest had begun speaking lifted just as fast as soon as he finished. 

Azus held out his hand to the other man and they shook hands firmly. Azus was projecting a professional exterior, but he felt all remaining bits of tension drain out of his body. It was done. The letter delivered, its safety ensured, and he could return home at a much more leisurely pace. 

As Azus walked out of the temple door, his mind was already turned towards the future, tracing out roads on his mental maps, already planning out his next journey. As long as he could make it back home by Sasha’s 80th birthday, he could go anywhere and help anyone from now ‘til then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [a drawing i did of azus as a full paladin](https://plasticcyborg.tumblr.com/post/637867181603995648/adult-paladin-of-mercury-azus-from-my-fic)
> 
> and thats a wrap! at least, for now. i might get inspired again and want to write more in this 'verse.


End file.
